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Technology Report
Power

Off-Highway Hybrids Are Entering Prime Time

Vocational off-highway vehicles are piling on the miles with power provided by an internal combustion engine (ICE) with additional hybrid technology. “We often get asked the question,...

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Articles
Manned Systems

Eaton and BAE Gear up a New Electrified Truck

One of the advantages that OEMs have long touted for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) has been the elimination of components like the transmission. The instant torque that an electric motor can...

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Articles
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Volvo Reveals New VNL with SuperTruck Influence

Volvo Trucks North America has launched the completely redesigned VNL Class 8 truck. The all-new VNL was designed specifically for the North American market and features Volvo’s next...

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Road Ready
Propulsion

Civic Type R Is Honda’s Technology Showcase

Despite humble roots, Honda’s 2023 Civic Type R is a Porsche for the rest of us: A small car destined for greatness, with more entertainment value than a three-day Netflix binge.

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News
Power

Volvo CE Previews ConExpo 2023 Display

Volvo CE previewed its display for ConExpo 2023 in Las Vegas with a teaser of the new DD25 electric compact double-drum asphalt compactor.

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Articles
Propulsion

Navistar’s ‘Ground Up’ Approach to All-New Diesel Engine

Though electrification has taken center stage for the commercial trucking industry, diesel ICE powertrains will continue to serve as the preferred propulsion system of many...

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Articles
Power

Making the Torque-Transfer Transition

A reckoning has arrived at suppliers whose product portfolios, engineering resources, and R&D activities are not aligned with the EV horizon. The challenge of pivoting their focus to...

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Road Ready
Propulsion

Ford Engineered the 2022 Bronco to Give Jeep the Willies

Ford engineers refused to utter a single bad word about Jeep Wrangler during the course of the week-long 2022 Bronco media drive event in Austin, Texas. In fact, some among that...

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Articles
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Gearing EVs for Greater Efficiency

A long-touted benefit of electric vehicles has been the utter simplicity of their drivetrains. With just a pair of reduction gears between the traction motor and final drive, single-speed gearing helps to...

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Q&A
Propulsion

Cummins Unveils EPA-Compliant 2021 Heavy-Duty Diesels

Cummins reserved its first virtual press event since the pandemic onset to reveal details of its EPA 2021 emissions-compliant X12 and X15 Performance Series engines. Built upon the...

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News
Power

In Pursuit of the Silky-Smooth EV

For next-generation electric vehicles (EVs), absolute smoothness in every operating mode will be an essential criterion. It will be a product differentiator, along with greater range, while raising the bar...

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Road Ready
Automotive

2021 Ford Bronco Aims to Kick Some Jeep

“There is nothing on this truck that is superfluous – no decorative chrome or extraneous styling. It’s designed for function, not fashion,” explained Paul Wraith, chief designer for Ford’s...

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What We’re Driving
Propulsion

What We’re Driving: 2020 Acura RDX

Acura’s RDX midsize crossover has established itself as an industry benchmark in body engineering, vehicle dynamics, cabin design and related metrics. All this basic goodness has helped this 2-row SUV...

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Articles
Automotive

Engineering the Chevrolet Corvette's First-Ever Mid-Engine Architecture

Shifting 500 lb (227 kg) of engine mass rearward by 7.5 feet (2.3 m) and moving 300 lb (136 kg) of transmission components aft by almost three feet transformed the...

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Road Ready
Manned Systems

Nissan's 2020 Frontier Gets New Powertrain

More transmission gears and greater engine horsepower should enliven the 2020 Nissan Frontier midsize pickup truck. “We’re launching a new transmission and new engine in the current Frontier,...

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Articles
Manufacturing & Prototyping

2019’s Best Automotive Plastics Innovations

The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) annual Automotive Innovation Awards Competition, now in its 49th year, is considered the “Oscars” for those developing polymer and...

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News
Power

Inside Tremec’s Corvette Dual-Clutch Transmission

Explaining Corvette’s move to one transmission for all buyers, global chief engineer Tadge Juechter notes, “Our customers began requesting a dual-clutch automatic transmission [DCT]...

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News
Energy

New-Generation Nissan Versa Breaks for Higher Ground

Subcompact cars hardly are spotlight-grabbers at the moment, but Nissan has nonetheless delivered up an all-new 2020 Versa that notches higher fuel economy, quicker acceleration, tighter...

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News
Power

Engineering the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette

Two days before the 50th anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong’s leap for mankind and 10 years after General Motors emerged from bankruptcy, the camouflage was finally ripped from the...

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News
Propulsion

2019 Hyundai Kona Ultimate AWD

The Hyundai Kona was named the 2019 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year (NAUVOY), sharing this accolade with its EV version which we had a positive impression of during its launch event. During a...

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News
Green Design & Manufacturing

2020 Hyundai Palisade: New Chassis, Atkinson V6

The three-row 2020 Hyundai Palisade’s strong, stable and quiet body structure serves as the starting point for ride quality, roll control and a quiet cabin. “We put a lot of resources...

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News
Electronics & Computers

ZF Shifts EV Transmission Efficiency up a Gear

ZF Project Engineer Volker Vogel checked that the Lausitzring test track ahead was clear and announced: “Now from stationary on full throttle.” From the rear of the prototype van came the...

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Technology Report
Energy

Ferrari Reveals SF90, First-Ever Plug-In Hybrid

Storied sportscar-maker Ferrari will produce its first-ever plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle, the company said in announcing its SF90 Stradale, a new model named in reference to the 90th...

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Road Ready
Green Design & Manufacturing

Heavy Capability for Chevy’s 2020 Silverado Heavy-Duty Pickups

That there are a staggering eight different trim levels for the new 2020 Chevrolet Silverado HD lineup says much about the importance the commercial-pickup segment holds for...

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Technology Report
Propulsion

GKN Demos ETwinster, World’s-First 2-Speed Torque-Vectoring BEV Transmission

GKN Automotive has unveiled what it claims is the world’s first 2-speed, torque-vectoring transmission for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). Featured on...

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News
Energy

Powering Back to the Future

Credit Leonardo DaVinci for creating what many historians believe was the first depiction of a self-powered vehicle. It was powered by springs. And in the centuries since then, engineers have found increasingly...

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News
Power

2019 Hyundai Veloster R-Spec

I don’t deliver much critique about vehicle styling because everybody’s entitled to their own tastes, but it’s important to say up front that I’ll never think the Veloster—even in its faintly...

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News
Propulsion

New V8, Big Towing, Trick Features and Tech for 2020 Chevy Silverado HD

With pickup trucks seemingly taking over the personal-vehicle market, it’s no surprise the Detroit Three automakers are devoting more attention than ever to the...

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News
Power

2019 Toyota RAV4: Doubling down on a Best-Seller

To say the RAV4 is a crucial product for Toyota might be underselling it. In the U.S., the 5-seat, 5-door FWD/AWD C-class SUV is Toyota’s best-selling vehicle, the nation’s best-selling...

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